Shattered
by DobbyRocksSocks
Summary: If she'd thought she'd known a broken heart before this moment, she realised she'd never been so wrong.


**Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise. **

**Challenges listed at the bottom. **

**Word Count** \- 765

**Hogwarts Assignment 4** \- First Aid 5 - A broken heart.

**Warning** \- Character Death

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**Shattered**

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She was embarrassed.

Sitting alone in the little booth, it felt like everyone in the bar was looking at her with pity, whispering about her being stood up.

She'd really thought this time would be different. Sirius had never been exactly dependable, but she thought he'd grown up in the last few months. They all had really; the war had been a rather sharp shock to all of their senses and they hadn't had much of a choice.

While they were still in school, she'd been one of the few girls to resist his charms, sending him packing whenever he came sniffing around, because the rather prolific number of notches on his bedpost hadn't been something that she'd wanted to be a part of.

She'd thought that was why he'd been so eager to take her on a date now, that maybe the fact that she hadn't given into him had earned her his respect.

And yet, here she sat, still waiting for him an hour after he was supposed to arrive.

Marlene ran a hand through her hair, uncaring that she was disturbing her carefully arranged curls. What did it matter now if her hair was perfect? She'd really though… it didn't matter now. If he thought he was going to get away with breaking her heart, he could think again.

Leaving a few coins on the table for the drink she'd been nursing, Marlene left the small pub, already plotting revenge on him for making her feel like a fool.

…

Seconds after the Apparition was over, she knew something was wrong. It took her mind a moment to process the scene in front of her, disbelief fighting with the evidence of what her eyes were seeing.

The Dark Mark sat atop her home, shifting eerily in the night air, a warning that she ignored as she ran towards the house.

An arm caught her around the waist, and she kicked out, fighting against the person holding her captive until she recognised the voice in her ear.

"Marlene, Marls, stop Sweetheart. You don't want to go in there."

She stopped fighting and turned her head, her eyes blurry with the unshed tears that were already filling them.

Sirius' face told her all she needed to know.

"I'm so, so sorry," he murmured.

She was glad for the arm around her waist as her legs buckled beneath her. He held her up, as others moved around them. It was only now that she was realising they were Order members.

"Who?" she asked, though she knew the answer. Her whole family had been planning to stay home for the evening, had even asked her to join them before she told them about her date.

Sirius held her tighter. "All of them. I'm so sorry, Marls."

Her feet found purchase beneath her, and she struggled out of his grip, heading for the house. She ignored the protests around her, both from Sirius and from other Order members and forced her way into the house.

Sirius followed behind her, helpless to stop her.

Every sign of damage—destroyed walls, broken furniture, _blood splatters_—filled her with rage because this was _her family_ and how _dare _they, how _could _they?

"Marlene, don't," Alice said, trying to stop her from entering the living room. "You don't need to see—"

"Yes I do," she snarled, pushing past Alice. It didn't matter that she was one of her best friends, this was _her _family.

Except, when she _did _see them, she realised that she hadn't wanted too.

Her mother, beautiful in life, was pale and covered in blood, the red bright against her skin. Her father, strong and burly, diminished in death.

And her little brother.

If she'd thought she'd known a broken heart before this moment, she realised she'd never been so wrong.

Sinking to her knees, Marlene reached out with a shaky hand to brush his hair back from his face. _This _was what a broken heart felt like.

She didn't realise she was crying until she noticed the tears dripping down onto her brother's cheek. Her breathing hitched, and she sobbed for him, for her parents.

Arms surrounded her, comforting this time instead of restraining, and she let Sirius hold her, because she didn't have the energy to fight him anymore.

He hushed her, rocking her gently, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore.

Her heart wasn't just broken, it was shattered, and she knew that even when she was strong enough to try and glue it back together, it would never be whole again.

Nothing that shattered ever was.

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**Written for: **

Trope - 12. Embarrassed

Showtime - 31. Tragedy (genre)

Scamander - 30. Running

Wandmaker - Reed (dependable) / White River Monster Spine (Marlene McKinnon)

Build A Bear - Scent - Shark Snack - Rage

Sci-fi - Apocalypse - Do you survive? 2. More than one character death

Game Night - Prolific

Mythology 6. Helpless

365\. 276. Revenge


End file.
